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Concerto for Group and Orchestra
Live album by Deep Purple
Released	December 1969 (United States) January 1970 (United Kingdom)
Recorded	24 September 1969
Genre	Classical/rock
Length	59:26
Label	Tetragrammaton (US) Harvest Records (UK) Warner Bros. (US) (reissue) Polydor Records (Canada)
Producer	Deep Purple
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Deep Purple chronology
Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969) Made in Japan (1972)

Concerto for Group and Orchestra
Video by Deep Purple
Released	6 May 2003 4 April 1970 (TV),
Recorded	24 September 1969
Genre	Classical/rock
Length	52:30 The Best of Both Worlds
Label	Eagle Rock Ent
Deep Purple video chronology
Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969) Live in Concert 72/73 (1972 & 1973)

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. The release was the first Deep Purple album to feature Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on bass. After the score was lost in 1970, it was performed again in 1999 with a recreated score.

Musical form

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra displays some characteristics of the concerto grosso, sinfonia concertante, and concerto for orchestra genres:

• First movement (Moderato - Allegro): after an elaborate orchestral introduction the Group and the Orchestra work as separate blocks, trying to get dominance over the main theme - this opposition of a group of soloists against an orchestra is quite "concerto grosso" style.
• Second movement (Andante), with lyrics sung by Ian Gillan: here the group integrates more with the sound of the orchestra while still clearly on top of the orchestral texture, giving a sinfonia concertante look and feel.
• Third movement (Vivace - Presto): apart from Ian Paice's drum solo, the music is so tightly knit that the distinction between the group and the orchestra is almost lifted: in a way the group becomes part of an extended orchestra, with one elaborate "solo" passage, by an instrument that is no soloist throughout the movement, giving a concerto touch: this is more or less what is understood by the Concerto for Orchestra genre.

Original 1969 Royal Albert Hall Performance

Performance

The piece was first performed and recorded on 24 September 1969 in the Royal Albert Hall, London, by:

• Deep Purple
  • Jon Lord: keyboards
  • Ritchie Blackmore: guitar
  • Ian Gillan: vocals
  • Roger Glover: bass
  • Ian Paice: drums
• The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold

The programme consisted of:

1. Symphony No. 6, Op. 95 (Malcolm Arnold), performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
   1. "1st Movement: Energico" (9:19)
   2. "2nd Movement: Lento" (8:52)
   3. "3rd Movement: Con Fuoco" (7:02)
2. "Hush" (Joe South, 4:42), performed by Deep Purple
3. "Wring That Neck" (Ritchie Blackmore, Nick Simper, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, 13:23), performed by Deep Purple
4. "Child in Time" (Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Lord, Paice - 12:06), performed by Deep Purple
5. Concerto for Group and Orchestra (Jon Lord, with lyrics by Ian Gillan), performed by Deep Purple with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
   1. "First Movement: Moderato-Allegro" (19:23)
   2. "Second Movement: Andante" (19:11)
   3. "Third Movement: Vivace-Presto" (13:09)

Parts of the Concerto's "Third Movement" - 5:53 - were given as an encore.

Releases

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra was first released on vinyl in December 1969 in the United States (Tetragrammaton) and in January 1970 in the United Kingdom (Harvest). These releases contained only the "Concerto", with the second movement broken in two halves.Copies of the original U.S. editions are rare as Tetragrammaton went bankrupt while the album was still being issued. In the following year, the Concerto became the only Tetragrammaton release to be reissued by Warner Bros., Deep Purple's new U.S. label.

On 4 April 1970, the Concerto was shown on British television as The Best of Both Worlds.

The 1990s saw a CD release including the songs "Wring That Neck" and "Child in Time".

In 2002 EMI released special edition DVD-A and SACD sets of Concerto for Group and Orchestra, featuring the entire program of music played that night.

In 2003, a video recording of this concert was released on DVD. However, four and a half minutes of the 1st Movement are missing in this video.

1970 Los Angeles performance

The Concerto was performed one more time, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster at the Hollywood Bowl on 25 August 1970, after which the score was lost.

1999 Royal Albert Hall performances

Performance

On 25 and 26 September 1999, thirty years after its initial performance, the Concerto was again performed in front a live audience in the Royal Albert Hall. To make this performance possible, a new score was created by Marco de Goeij by listening to the recording and watching the video of the 1969 performance.

Performers were:

• The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paul Mann

The programme consisted of:

1. Four Scottish Dances (Malcolm Arnold), performed by the London Symphony Orchestra
2. "Pictured Within", performed by Jon Lord and Miller Anderson
3. "Wait A While", performed by Jon Lord and Sam Brown
4. "Sitting In A Dream", performed by Roger Glover and Ronnie James Dio
5. "Love Is All", performed by Roger Glover and Ronnie James Dio
6. "Via Miami", performed by Ian Gillan
7. "That's Why God Is Singing the Blues", performed by Ian Gillan
8. "Night Meets Light", performed by The Steve Morse Band
9. "Take It off the Top", performed by The Steve Morse Band
10. "Wring That Neck", performed by Ian Paice & The Kick Horns
11. Concerto for Group and Orchestra (Jon Lord, with lyrics by Ian Gillan), performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
    1. "First Movement: Moderato-Allegro" (19:23)
    2. "Second Movement: Andante" (19:11)
    3. "Third Movement: Vivace-Presto" (13:09)
12. "Ted the Mechanic", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
13. "Watching the Sky", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
14. "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
15. "Pictures Of Home", performed by Deep Purple and The London Symphony Orchestra
16. "Smoke on the Water", performed by the evening's entire ensemble

Releases

The recording of the concert was released on a double CD as Live at the Royal Albert Hall. A cut recording of the performance was also released on DVD, entitled In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra.

2000-2001 Concerto Tour

Encouraged by the success of the 1999 performances, Deep Purple took the Concerto on tour, first performing it in South America with local orchestras, then in Europe with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, in Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, all conducted by Paul Mann.

Subsequent performances

The score of the concerto having been recreated, groups and orchestras across the world were free to perform it:

External links

• Jon Lord's official website
• 1969 performance (& recording)
• 1999 performance (& recording)
• 1999 performance (& recording)